The walk celebrates kids like Caris who, because of their condition, are forced to grow up fast.

JDRF Houston Gulf Coast Chapter Executive Director Molly Naylor told Local 2, "They all lose their childhood. So they're special in a not good way 364 days out of the year, but on walk day, they're special for an extraordinary reason."

The complications can range from kidney failure and blindness to amputations, even heart attack and stroke.

It can strike adults and kids at any age.

Naylor added, "Type 1 is actually increasing by five percent a year and five percent does sound like much, but when you take that over a decade what that means is 10 years from now, there will be 50 percent more people being diagnosed."

Money raised from the walk goes toward research and developing new technology which helps diabetics like Caris live as normal a life as possible.

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month so JDRF will host two walks, bringing together more than 15,000 people and 200 companies to support increased awareness and research to cure type 1 diabetes.

Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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